User Reviews

1. Review Date: 2009-11-10

   I've always wanted a Wacom but they used to be very expensive. For $69 retail, this is a great tablet that I will enjoy using for a long time. The reviewers who gave it poor reviews were not happy with it because they don't know what tablets are used for, and were expecting it to be something it's not. Buy this model and you will be pleased.
   
   User: J Ferguson
   Rating:
   Summary: Best tablet for the money
   Helpful Votes: 2
   Total Votes: 3
   

2. Review Date: 2009-11-06

   If you use Linux, do NOT get this tablet. Unlike pretty much every other Wacom tablet, this one will not work without a lot of patching to the wacom driver, hal, and possibly X (I haven't gotten it working yet). All their new tablets don't work, whereas older ones (including TabletPCs) work out of the box. It seems to work in a Windows virtual machine, but there is no mouse cursor so you don't know where it is until you "click"...people might have better luck if they don't have any of the guest additions tools installed.
   
   User: Josh Hill
   Rating:
   Summary: Does not work on Linux
   Helpful Votes: 6
   Total Votes: 8
   

3. Review Date: 2009-11-05

   Bought this for my grandson and he loves it. It was an excellent price, too.
   
   User: S. Alford
   Rating:
   Summary: Bamboo Pen
   Helpful Votes: 1
   Total Votes: 3
   

4. Review Date: 2009-10-26

   I've played around with this device for a couple of days. The installation took longer than I thought it would; had to restart the computer in order for my PC to finally recognize it, but that may have been because I had it plugged into a USB hub (didn't work) instead of directly to a USB port (worked).
   
   The device roughly works like a mouse, but you use a pen to move along the surface of a pad, the useable surface of which is about 6" X 4". You do not actually place the pen on the surface, but keep it slightly above, so that as you move the pen you watch the cursor move along your screen in tandem. When you find a place you want to "left click," you tap the pen down on the pad. To double click, you tap twice. To drag an item, you hold the tip to the pad and slide it along. To duplicate the right click of a mouse, you press a button on the pen while the cursor is in position and the same menu you would normally see with a right mouse click appears on your screen. You have to be careful as you can press this button accidentally. The pen does not require batteries and it has no cord. You can also use your finger on the pad instead of the pen, but not both at the same time. You can also trade off between your mouse and the pen, but again, you cannot use them both at the same time.
   
   The tutorial is fairly basic and does not tell you much, but it does give you the elementary uses of the pen and pad. At the end, it is supposed to take you to a screen on the web (their home page) to fill out a survey, but the US portion (for me) would never load, only Europe. When I did manage to connect to their web site for the US, this particular model (CTL 460) was not to be found. The tutorial tells you that for other useful applications, you need to check out their web site for other software support. I could never locate this information, and trying to find anything at all on all of the other great features it is supposed to have is somewhat difficult when you cannot even locate the model number.
   
   What I was hoping the pen would allow me to do is to easily scribble notes, etc on PowerPoint slides, Word documents, or even within emails, but I've yet to figure out how to do this. All it did was continue to move the cursor around. Maybe it requires the additional software I could never locate. It does come with Corel Painter Essentials software, which I don't see using for any of the applications I need, but it might be fun for the kids to play around with if they want to paint colors on the screen or try to draw something.
   
   Lastly, the double click feature has not worked very well. When I try to open an email within Outlook, for example, where I would normally double click the mouse, I tap the pad twice with the pen and.....nothing. Eventually I end up reverting back to my mouse for navigating my PC. In the tutorial, they state that it will do everything a mouse will do, and if it seems awkward at first (which it certainly does), keep practicing and you will get used to it. I guess the question is, if it does not really do much more than a mouse...why should I keep practicing with this device when I can just reach for my mouse? By the time I figure out how to do what I want to do, I could have used my mouse and been long gone.
   
   The bottom line is, I just don't really see any great value added to my every day PC activity with the Wacom Bamboo Pen Tablet.
   
   
   User: MW
   Rating:
   Summary: Difficult to find the value for this
   Helpful Votes: 4
   Total Votes: 13
   

5. Review Date: 2009-10-23

   Do you remember when computers first came out and you had to go through a tutorial to use a mouse? Well, when I set up my pen, I felt like I was back in those days. Everything I've spent the last 15 years doing had to be rethought, and I went through the tutorials to learn it all over again.
   
   The pen will / and does replace the mouse if you want to use it that way. You hold it in your hand like a pen, and move it across the tablet (which represents your screen). You don't have to roll it across the screen like a mouse, instead, each area of the tablet represents an area of the screen, and once you put the pen down, you are in the correct place on the screen.
   
   If you want to see where your cursor is going, you don't have to touch the tablet, you simply keep the pen slightly above the tablet to make it work. You can click, drag, right click (with the button on the pen): anything you can do with a mouse, you can do with this more precise instrument. Best of all, the pen itself does not have a battery that will wear out.
   
   But, where it shines is that it recognizes your handwriting and will convert it to text. Like the voice recognition software, you can work with it to help it recognize it better, but unless you have outrageously sloppy handwriting, it does a good job.
   
   In Microsoft Word, when you hover the pen over the paper, you are given a palette where you can write words, then click to insert. [I have uploaded two photos to show you how it works.] You can use this feature on most programs, including e-mail. So, technically, the pen and tablet can completely eliminate the keyboard.
   
   I say technically, because I found it slower to try to use it, especially the writing portion. With a typing speed of over 100 wpm, writing has always been slow for me. But, if someone doesn't know the keyboard, it could actually be faster.
   
   It comes with Corel Painter Essentials 4 (Win/Mac) and using this software (or other draw software), you can create your own drawings and export them into digital files. Because the cost of this software runs $30-$40, it makes this a very good value! I enjoy the Corel Painter Essentials (I use much of the corel software), because it can also do a wonderful job of converting photos to paintings, chalk drawings, etc. Tutorials are included for this software as well.
   
   If you use your pen in conjunction with the software, you can create details to be included a lot easier than you can simply using your mouse.
   
   Pros:
   Easy to use, a great value, and good software included!
   Pen does not have the repetitive action of the mouse and I found it to be easy on my wrists - I am at risk for carpal tunnel, and that's a critical issue.
   The pen is very sensitive to touch and works well in the painting program.
   The tutorial for the pen comes with a fun British accent, and it does a wonderful job of walking you through the basics.
   
   Cons:
   Pen must be at the correct angle to be recognized. It means the pad must be in a location where you can easily write on it. (I often use a laptop, and this is a key issue)
   High learning curve for beginners to use the tablet in place of a mouse
   Unless you are doing detailed drawings or need to write with it, most of the functions can be handled easily by a mouse.
   
   The hardest part about writing this review is that I'm worried that even 2-3 years from now everyone will have tablets, and they will laugh at me and my difficulty in learning this tool. I will continue to use it, and will practice with it a lot in the drawing software, but for now will most likely depend upon my faithful mouse (trackball actually)to do most of my computing work and save the Pen/Pad for what it does best.
   
   It's a great tool and does everything it is supposed to do! And, even someone in my age bracket can learn to use it.
   
   ***Edited***
   The fun part about new things is that you learn a lot about the "old things" you didn't use on your computer.
   
   One of these things is the "journal" on my computer. By right-clicking the desktop and choosing "New Journal Page" you create a document that you can use to store information, including pen-created items. You can utilize it for handwriting recognition, or you can copy and paste your handwriting into another document, including Word and e-mails. (think signature)
   
   Another fun capability I wasn't aware of was in Powerpoint. Once you are in a presentation, you can use a control P command to create a pen and mark up the screen of a presentation. In a sense, this can replace the old "overheads" we used to mark up in presentations. Obviously, it's a lot easier to do this with a pen than a mouse.
   
   All of the instructions said that marking up documents was possible. I followed Wacom's instructions - the correct location is under the review tab, there is a tab marked "start inking." This tab did NOT appear in Microsoft Word for me when I originally installed the tablet software. After uninstalling the software that shipped with the tablet and re-installing the newest driver directly from Wacom, the tab appears. By turning ink on, I can now mark up documents and work directly in Microsoft Word. [I have included a photo above to demonstrate the mark-up that is possible.]
   
   The more I learn, the more I like the tablet! I keep my trackball handy, but I'm using the tablet more and more for small things.
   
   
   
   User: Bobbie - "Andromeda's Gramma"
   Rating:
   Summary: Works very well - a big learning curve
   Helpful Votes: 15
   Total Votes: 15
   

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Editorial Reviews

Included pen features 512 levels of pressure sensitivity for precise drawings. View larger

Large, textured work surface and customizable keys give you artistic control. View larger.

The Bamboo Pen is simple to set up, using a plug-and-play mechanism. Simply plug the tablet into your computer via a USB port, install the provided drivers, and you're ready to go. You'll be doodling, writing, and painting in minutes.

Expand Your Creative Horizons with Precise Pen Technology
With the Bamboo Pen, digital drawing and painting are easier than ever. The tablet surface is designed to emulate the organic feel of working with traditional media, whether you're making fine dashes or wide, arching brush strokes.

The pen features 512 levels of pressure sensitivity, giving your artwork a level of nuance that just isn't possible when you're using a mouse. You can use the pressure-sensitive control to vary line thickness, add shading, and control boldness. When used in combination with the included Corel Painter Essentials 4.0, the tablet becomes an even more powerful artistic tool.

Bamboo Pen is compatible with Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP (Service Pack 2) and Mac OS X (10.4.8 or higher.) It requires a powered USB drive, a colored screen, and a CD/DVD drive.

What's in the Box
Bamboo Pen tablet, Bamboo Pen pen, Quick Start guide, installation CD (includes driver software, interactive tutorial, and user's manual), software CD.

Product Details

1. Battery-free, ergonomic pen with two programmable switches
2. Includes Corel Painter Essentials 4.0 (Win and Mac) for creating natural media art and turning photos into paintings
3. Easy USB connection
4. Interactive tutorial helps you make the most of your Bamboo